A green group on Thursday said Hong Kong's planned pay-as-you-throw scheme is unfair, as residents have no option to go waste-free.

Greenpeace said 45 households took part in a waste-charging trial it organised last month and it was discovered that half of their rubbish comprised of disposable tableware and product packaging.

A campaigner with the group, Leanne Tam, said the government's plan, which involves making residents buy designated bags to throw their rubbish away in, means ordinary people will end up paying the price for the actions of corporations.

“There is no choice for the customers to decide whether they can buy a packaging-free product. This will be unfair for them because they have to pay for the useless packaging when there is a waste-charging scheme,” she said.

“When the government implements the waste-charging scheme in Hong Kong, they should not forget about the responsibility of the producers. They have to regulate the producers to provide a packaging-free product or reusable packaging product for the customers to choose.”

The pay-as-you-throw scheme has been postponed twice, with the implementation date currently set at August 1.

But different sectors, including some legislators, have urged the authorities to call off the scheme, complaining that there are not enough recycling facilities in the city.

Tam, however, said the scheme should be implemented on August 1 as planned because Hong Kong is falling behind when it comes to green initiatives, adding that other measures, like a territory-wide borrow-and-return system for tableware, can be introduced later on.